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Patient‐controlled analgesia with oxycodone in the treatment of postcraniotomy pain
Author(s) -
Tanskanen P.,
Kyttä J.,
Randell T.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1034/j.1399-6576.1999.430110.x
Subject(s) - oxycodone , medicine , ketoprofen , anesthesia , sedation , morning , evening , craniotomy , sufentanil , analgesic , opioid , surgery , pharmacology , physics , receptor , astronomy
Background: Moderate to severe pain occurs after craniotomy in 60% of patients. We evaluated the feasibility and safety of patient‐controlled analgesia (PCA) with oxycodone in neurosurgical patients, and compared the efficacy of paracetamol with ketoprofen. Methods: In the study there were 45 patients, who received either paracetamol 1000 mg or ketoprofen 100 mg three times a day. Oxycodone‐boluses 0.03 mg/kg were given by PCA‐device maximally three times an hour, lock‐out time 10 min. The amount of oxycodone used, pain scores and side‐effects were recorded. Results: The ketoprofen group required less oxycodone than the paracetamol group (medians 37.1 mg vs 19.6 mg, P <0.05). The VAS scores were comparable between the groups at the beginning of the study, during the first postoperative evening and the next morning, but the paracetamol group had a higher score at the conclusion of the study ( P <0.05). The patients in both groups were equally satisfied with the pain relief. There were no differences in side‐effects between the groups. Conclusions: PCA with oxycodone is a suitable method for pain control after craniotomy. No progressive hypoventilation, desaturation or excessive sedation were encountered. Ketoprofen appeared to be more effective than paracetamol.